Utility trailers used with commercial tractor trailer trucks are common sights on roads and highways. These trailers are fundamental equipment for moving large or voluminous cargo from place to place. These trailers can be closed-box-type trailers or flatbed-type trailers for hauling heavy machinery, for example, earth moving equipment.
Difficulties exist in present open-flatbed-type designs in many important areas reducing their utility and capabilities. Existing designs often have a fixed-height kingpin or fifth wheel connection point to the vehicle that pulls the trailer. This renders a particular trailer only useful for a particular style or class of vehicle which accommodates that connection point height. Other disadvantages of present designs include inefficiencies in design and manufacturing which adds to the inflexibility in use as well as lower performance capabilities.
It would be beneficial for a trailer to improve on these deficiencies in adaptability to accommodate different towing vehicles while improving the trailer's capabilities and performance. It would further be beneficial for a trailer to improve on the design and manufacturing to reduce the number of special or custom components that are used in present designs which, for example, are used in one type of trailer that are not suitable to be used in other trailer designs. It would be advantageous for a trailer to include the above advantages while increasing the payload capabilities, robustness of design and durability for use in extreme duty situations in the harshest environments.